A masterpiece or a disappointment? Attack on Titan fans weigh in on the show's divisive ending
Reactions to Attack on Titan’s ending range from “awful fan fiction” to a “masterpiece”
If you’re a fan of the manga, then you’ve likely been preparing yourself for the outpouring of reactions that would inevitably follow the Attack on Titan ending. Upon its publication in 2021, it was largely seen as controversial, sloppy, and unsatisfying, with many taking aim at Mikasa's actions over Eren. Now that animation studio MAPPA has put its own spin on the conclusion for the anime, it seems that most are approving of the Final Chapters’ adaptation.
"The end of one of the greatest stories of all time. This piece of art has provided me with every emotion possible,” one wrote on Twitter. Another added: “The people who said the ending was bad did not understand AOT and I just feel sorry for y'all tbh. SHIT WAS A MASTERPIECE!!!”
Jacksepticeye wrote: “As someone who was really disappointed in the manga ending, the anime did it WAY better. The extra scenes and dialogue added made it feel less rushed and random.”
One simply said:“All good things must come to an end."
Not everyone was pleased with how The Rumbling came to a close, however.
“Finished the Attack on Titan finale, and my god, does it just feel like an awful fan fiction,” one remarked. “How can a show with so much potential at the start become so bad.”
Another viewer wrote, “As this is one of my favorite anime of all time, i'll say I'm pretty disappointed with this episode and ending as a whole. rly disappointed they chose this ending for my fav anime. 5/10 for this ending, everything else 10/10.”
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Others were middle of the road and a little less effusive with their reactions. One commented, “‘Fine’ is how I feel, I liked the conclusion and how it ended but nothing stood out as amazing or awesome to me, some good fights, no real twists or anything it ended exactly how I thought, nice happy 7/10 ending.” Another added: “It was a good episode, let’s just leave it at that.”
Need something to dedicate your heart to next? Check out our list of the best anime you should be watching right now, plus our guides to Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 and Demon Slayer season 4.
I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.